Lighter



NOV. 1, 1932. J, SMITH 1,885,869

LIGHTER Filed Oct. 18, les zssheewshepet 1 jgisi gon Nov. 1, 1932. J. L. SMITH 1,885,869

' .-LIGHTER Filed Oct. 18, 1928 2 SheetsSheet 2 neath which is Patented Nov. 1, I932 1 stares masts easier.

nren'rnn Application filed October 18,1928. Serial No. 313,304..

- My invention relates in general to lighters and more particularly to that type of lighter in which a. torch saturated with an inflain-- mable fluid is ignited by means of an electric spark.

The principalobject of myinvention has been to provide a device of this nature in which the secondary electrodes shall be mounted within a single piece sleeve in such a manner that contact with the hand of the operator shall not easily occur.

Another object has been to provide a feed tube for the fluid tank so constructed as to positively prevent the possibility of ignition of thecontents of the tank by the flame of the torch, or by the electric spark.

Moreover, my device is compactly arran ed safe and economical to o erate and so'durable in construction that it shall not easily get out of order.

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the device shown in the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. -1 is a sectional elevation: of my complete device.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken online 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the electric circuits of my device.

In the drawings I have shown the device mounted within a casing adapted for use as a cigar lighter, but it is obvious that the elements of the device may be differently arranged for use as acigar lighter in a smokers stand, or as a lighter for use in a kitchen or on an automobile. j

In the illustrated form in the drawings, 10

represents the case of the device which in this form is made of wood and provided with a top 11 and side walls 12. Carried by one of the side walls 12 is the spark coil 13 of the device and the electric battery 14.

Arranged at some convenient place in the top 11 is the electrode sleeve 16 of-my device. This sleeve is preferably of'porcelain or other durable insulating material and is provided with 'a rather deep mouth 17 bean enlarged bore 18, thus providing a shoulder is the movable, secondaryelectrode 20- of my device. This electrode is in the nature of: a metallic plate or button and, is carried by a stem or plunger21 of insulating material. This plunger extends downwardly through a contact plate 22'arranged at the bottom ofv the electrode sleeve andalsothrough an insulating switch plate 23 where it actuates the primary circuit switch 24, to be hereinafter described. The electrode sleeve is provided with a flange 25 which extends around its base and which is formed tion 26. An aperture 27 isformed in the top 11 of the casing, andthe reduced portion is adapted to fit into this aperture- I An escutcheon plate 28 may be placedunder the flange if desired- The contact plate 22 is held against the lower surface of the reduced portion 26 of the electrode sleeve preferably by means of a bolt 29, the inner end of which is securely cemented. or otherwise fastened within the sleeve and which extends outwardly beyond the surface of the sleeve for a considerable distance. A nut 30 serves to retain the contact plate in position. The outer end of the screw exten'ds below the bottom surface of the top 11 of the casing and the sleeve is held within the aperture 27 by means of a" plate 31 which is provided with an apertureand passedover the bolt 29, where it is secured bymeans of a nut 32; This screw also serves as a terminal for the high tension wire 33. Disposed within the bore 18 of the electrode sleeve is a helicalcontactspring36. This spring is mounted aboutthe plunger 21, and has one end bearing against the contact plate 22, and the other end bearing against the movable, secondary electrode 20, whereby the secondary current passing to the plate 22 will be conducted to the movable electrode 19. Mounted in the bore-18 I by a reduced por- 20. .This spring also serves to maintain the near the upper rim of its mouth 17. This electrode is connected by means of a high tension wire 39, the upper end of which passes into and through a bole formed 1n the sleeve. The lower end of the high tension wire 39 is connected to the secondary terminal 42 of the spark coil 13, while the high tension wire 33 is connected to the secondary terminal 43 of the coil.

As shown in Fig. 2, the insulated switch plate 23 is secured to the bottom surface of the top 11 of the casing and extends centrally across the opening 27 formed in the top. As hereinbefore stated, the plunger 21 passes into and through this plate andhas its lower end engaging with the switch arm 45 of the primary circuit switch 24, so that as the movable electrode 20 is depressed, as hereafter described, this switch arm'45 will be moved downwardly and in contact with a switch arm 46, so as to close the primary circuit. The switch arms 45 and 46 arecarried by the insulated switch plate 23 and are held in place by bolts 47 and 48, respectively,

- which bolts also provide terminals for the primary wires 49 and 50, respectively. The primary wire 50 is connected to the primary terminal 51 of the spark coil 13, and the primary wire 49 is connected to the terminal 52 of the battery 14. The other terminal 53 of the battery 14 is connected to the secondary terminal 43 of the spark coil by means of a wire 54. As illustrated in the drawings, the

spark coil employed in this device is one hav-- ing but three terminals, one terminal serving as a combined primary and secondary terminal. Obviously, where two separate primary terminals are employed, the wire 54 would. be connected to the second individual primary terminal.

Arranged at some convenient place in the top 11 of the case is the fuel tank of my device. This tank is preferably set into an opening 61 formed inthe top, and is held in position by means of an annular flange-62 formed on the tank, which engages with the upper surface of the top 11. The body 63 of the tank is preferably made of sheet metal having a bottom 64 and a top 65. The top is provided with a centrally arranged filler opening in which is screw-threaded a feed tube 66. This tube is providedwith a'flange 67 which contacts with the top of the tank where it may be sealed by a suitable'washer, if desired, and the lower end of the tube extends substantially to the bottom 64 of the tank. Rising from the topof the tube is a funnel 68 which acts as a holder for the torch 69, and also serves to extinguish the flame of the. torch when it is placed within the tube. The central opening of the tube is filled with plugs 70 of felt or other suitable material which will readily absorb the liquid used in the tank, but which'will positively .seal the contents of the tank against explosion. In

the lower portion of the tube there is formed a plurality of feed openings, which may take the form of the longitudinal slots 77 (see Fig. 3). In the upper end of the tube is a cylinder 71, also preferably made of felt or other tightly woven fabric material which is provided with a central bore 72, with which the absorbent element 73 of the torch is engageable. The torch is preferably provided with a handle 74 made of material, such asporcelain or bakeliteL A rod 7 5 is fastened in the lower end of the handle 7 4and the absorbent element 73 of the torch is carried by this rod. This absorbent element may be rial but preferably of asbestos-cord wound about a core and fastened in place by a semispherical washer 76, arranged at each end of the element.

The fuel tank 60 and feed tube 66 provide a holding and feeding device for holding the liquid fuel and for feeding this fuel through the tube to the torch element 73 of the torch member. It is to be particularly noted that the feed tube is formed to provide a pair of sections in which a cylindrical section extends from the top to the bottom of the tank or fuel holding receptacle and the plugs 70 and cylinder 71 provide a packing or body of wicking material substantially filling this cylindrical section. An elongated socket is formed at the upper end of the body of wicking material by this structure that receives and completely houses the torch element with the absorbent covering 73 in surface contact with the walls of the socket formed by the body of wicking material; Then the member 68 provides a torch extinguishing and guiding section extending above the top of the fuel tank and has the open upper end flared outwardly so as to effectively guide the'torch element into the socket in the wicking material. This section also has a contracted portion of less size than the cylindrical section and only slightly greater than the size of the socket, so as to cooperate with the torch ele ment upon its insertion into the socket of wicking material, and before its insertion into this socket, for the purpose of extinguishing the flame on has been used,"and for preventing the fuel in the wick from becoming ignited. Then, thehandle connected to the torch element by the rod, in forming a portable torch member, is so constructed that when the torch element is housed in the socket, that the loweriend part of the handle cooperates with the guiding and extinguishing section of the tube so as to substantially close the passage therethrough and in addition to preventing ignition of the fuel 'n the filling material of the cylindrical section also aids in preventing evaporation of thefuel through the tube;

When my device is to beput into operation, the torch 69 is removed from-the feed tube suitable insulating made of any suitable matethe torch element after it assaaee and funnel 68, where it has been kept saturated with the inflammable fluid contained within the feed tank. The absorbent element 73 of the torch is now placed within the Bl mouth 17 of the electrode sleeve 16, and the semi-spherical washer 76 at the lower end of the torch brought into contact with the plate or button forming the movable, secondary electrode 20. The torch is now delOpressed, which will move the electrode 20 down against the tension of the spring 36, and since the lower end of the plunger 21 which carries the electrodeQO is in contact with the primary switch arm 45, this arm will also be moved downwardly until it contacts with the primary switch arm 46. This serves to closethe primary circuit which in turn energizes the spark coil and causes a high tension spark to pass between the stationary, secondary electrode 37 and the movable, secondary electrode 20. Since the absorbent element 73 of the torch is the means of actuating the movable electrode 20 it will lie in the path of the spark created between the elec- 25 trodes 37 and 20 and will thus be ignited. As soon as the torch is ignited,it is removed from the mouth 17 of the electrode sleeve and used to ignite whatever is desired, after which it is placed within the mouth of the funnel 68 and allowed to drop down into the feed tube where it will cometo rest after the absorbent element has entered the bore 72 of the cylinder 71 and has come in contact with g the upper of the felt washers 70.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the torch does not form any part of the electric circuit, and is an element separate from the electrical parts of the device, except that it provides the means for operating such electri- 40 cal parts of the device. The spark does not need to play across the terminals any longer than the time necessary to ignite the torch, after which the torch may be used as long as desired without the consumption of electric current. The length of time the torch may be used at each lighting depends upon the amount of inflammable fluid contained in the absorbent element thereof.

Obviously, some modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made. without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the exact embodiment herein shown and described, the form shown being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a lighter, the combination of a holding and feeding device anda torch member cooperating therewith, said device comprising a fuel holdingreceptacle, a tubular member extending through the top of said receptacle having a cylindrical section extending from the top to the bottom of said receptacle, a bodyof wickingmaterialfilling saidcylindrical section and formed to providean' elongated upwardly opening socket in -th'e upper end portion thereof, a torch extinguishing and guiding section extending above said device from the upper end ofsaid cylindrical section and formed to provide an outwardly flared open upper end and a contracted passage adjacent said cylindrical sectionof smaller size than said cylindrical section; and said cooperating torch member having atoroli element provided with anexposed body of absorptive material having a size adapted to snugly fit and be'housed in said socket in said body of wicking material incontact therewith below said second-mentioned secti-on,andahandle on said torch member extending outwardly through said second-men'- tioned section beyond the upper end thereof when said torch element is housed in said socket, and said contracted passage coopera-t ing to extinguish flame on said torch element duringinsertion through and guiding by said second-mentioned section.

2; In a lighter, the combination ofa. holding and feeding device, and a cooperating torch member; said device comprising a fuel holding receptacle, a tubular member extending through the top of said receptacle having a cylindrical section extending from the top to the bottom of said receptacle and spaced from the sides thereof, a body of wicking material filling said cylindrical section and formed at the upper end with an elongated upwardly extinguishing and guiding section extending above said device from the upper end of said cylindrical section and formed to provide an outwardly flared open upper end and a contracted passage adjacent said cylindrical section of smaller size than said cylindrical section; and said cooperating torch member comprising a torch element having an outer exposed covering of absorptive material, said torch element being adapted to be housed in the socket in said body of wicking material with the absorptive covering in surface contact with the walls of said socket, a stem extending outwardly from said torch element through said second-mentioned section when said element is housed in said socket, and a handle on said stein extending outwardly beyond said second-mentioned section and having a part cooperating with said secondmentioned section to substantially close the passage therein, and said contracted passage and torch element cooperating to extinguish flame on said torch element before said element seats in said socket.

3. In alighter,the combination of a holdopening socket, a torch ing and feeding device and a torch member cooperating therewith, said device comprising a fuel holding receptacle, a cylindrical section extending upwardly from the bottom portion of said receptacle to the top portion,*

a body of wicking material filling said cylindrical section and formed to provide an elongated upwardly opening socket in the upper end portion thereof, va torch ex- 7 5 tinguishing and guiding section extending above said device from the upper end of said cylindrical section and formed to provide an outwardly flared open upper end and a contracted passage adjacent said cylindrical sec- 10 .tion of smaller size than said cylindrical section; and said cooperating torch member having a torch element provided with an exposed body of absorptive material having a size adapted to snugly fits and be housed in said 15 socket in said bodyfofwicking material in contact therewith below said second-mentioned section and a handle on said torch member extending outwardly through said 7 secondmentioned section beyond the upper end thereof "when said torch element is housed in said socket, and said contracted passage cooperating to extinguish flame on said torch V element during insertion through and guiding by said second-mentioned section.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed by name. 7 r

, JOSEPH L. SMITH. 

